Sights

The centre

At the heart of the old city is the attractive, arcaded Plaza 14 de Septiembre. Facing the plaza is the neoclassical cathedral. Dating from 1571, it has been much added-to since.

There are several colonial churches, including Santo Domingo, where building began in 1778 but remains unfinished. San Francisco was built in 1581, making it the second oldest in the city, but was heavily modernized in 1926. Also in the centre is the Convent and Museum of Santa Teresa which is perhaps Cochabamba's finest religious building. Built in 1760-1790, the interior is quite beautiful and the floor is one of the most original in the Americas. Visitors are not usually allowed in but you can ask for permission to enter at the convent store nearby on Baptista. Just off the main plaza at Baptista y Achá, is the church of La Compañía, whose calm, whitewashed interior comes as something of a relief from the usual riot of late- Baroque decoration.



Among the city's museums, the most important is the excellent Museo Arqueológico. Part of the Universidad de San Simón, it is one of the most complete in the country and displays artefacts dating from 15,000 BC to the colonial period, including an interesting collection of prehistoric pieces, Amerindian hieroglyphic scripts and pre-Inca textiles.

Casona Santiváñez is a museum with a nice colonial patio (worth a visit) and exhibitions of paintings and old photographs.

North of the centre

From the beautiful Plaza Colón, at the north end of the old town, the wide, palm-lined Avenida Ballivián runs northwest to the Río Rocha and beyond to the wealthy, modern residential areas. Also known as El Prado, Avenida Ballivián is fronted by many fashionable cafés and restaurants.

Cochabamba was the birthplace of Simón Patiño, the tin baron, who amassed one of the world's largest private fortunes. He built two houses in the city. One of these is now part of the Universidad de San Simón . His other house, to the north of Plaza Colón, is the Palacio de Portales (Centro Cultural Simón I Patiño). It has a useful library, an excellent art gallery and a lovely garden. This sumptuous mansion, which was built in 1925-1927 but never occupied, sits in 10 ha of extravagantly beautiful gardens designed by Japanese experts in the classic style of Versailles. The architectural style is predominantly French Renaissance. The great halls are filled with Napoleonic and Louis XV furniture. On the upper floor are chambers containing reproductions of the Sistine Chapel; the walls are covered in brocaded silk and it is decorated throughout in Carrara marble and paintings by Velásquez. There's even a copy of the Alhambra in Granada. Everything imported and no expense spared, the Palacio de Portales bears testament to inconceivable opulence.

South of the centre

To the south of the centre, near the train station, are some of the best produce markets in Bolivia. La Canchais huge and well worth a visit on Wednesdays and Saturdays, when it's packed with campesinos. It is also very good for souvenirs. Mercado Incallactasells mainly fruit and vegetables and some souvenirs.

East of the centre

At the east end of Avenida Heroínas is another hill, the Cerro de San Pedro, at the top of which stands an enormous statue of Cristo de la Concordia. A modern cable car will whizz you to the top from the east end of Heroínas. Steps, which are the alternative to the cable car are not safe. For another fee you can, if it's open, climb up 10 floors of the statue to stare out from within Christ's chest - the heart of Christianity, so to speak. Though the 34.2-m, 2200-ton statue is claimed to be the biggest depiction of Christ in the world, it lacks the iconic beauty of Rio's version and the view over Cochabamba is similarly uninspiring.